Still Think I'm Crazy?
by Fruityferret
Summary: Guess what... Charlene's back! It's summer and everyone's ready to have fun and forget what happened 3 years earlier. But now Simon's back from the mental institute and the others are terrified. Is Simon really better or are the others in serious danger?
1. Shocking news

**Hi! Sorry I haven't done much with My first story but I really wanted to write this. Hope you like it!**

A lot of commotion was going on at the chipmunks' house, Alvin was sitting at the table with his friends. The chipettes were sitting right across from him talking excitedly about this summer. They all couldn't wait to start having fun since they haven't seen each other in months. They had all just finished their first year in college and they were all tired and ready to have fun and he was glad that he had just passed since he didn't think he was going to pass but he did thanks to Caleb.

Caleb was sitting in the chair right next to him drinking water. They had been friends since the ninth grade and went to the same college. He had him with his last exams and just barely passed but was glad he did.

There was also something else to be excited about. Charlene was here to visit. They were surprised when she called the last minute and said she was going to meet them here. She had left three years to go to Paris. She had left just before all the bad things had happened.

But they all had tried to forget. Alvin thought that maybe that time away had helped them all cope with what had happened. He was glad to see everyone smiling and having fun. He really hoped it would stay that way.

"I know. I really want to go to the beach as soon as possible'" Brittany was saying. " But what did you want to do Charlene?" She asked.

"I don't know. I'm just really excited to be back."

"We are to," Eleanor said then looked over to where Theodore was pouring drinks. " Hey Theo, youneed any help?" She asked.

"Uh… No it's ok. I'm almost done." He replied

"Well hurry up Theodore. We're starving." Caleb said.

"Hey Alvin," Charlene said and Alvin looked back at her. She had a strange puzzled look on her face.

"Yeah, what's wrong," He asked.

"Well I wanted to ask where was S-" but she never finished. Just that moment Theodore brought over the drinks and a tray of finger sandwiches. Everyone grabbed a drink and dug in. everyone except for Theodore. Alvin noticed that he was nervously tapping his hand against the table and he looked pretty worried.

"Hey Theo, you ok?" Alvin asked starting to worry himself.

"Huh?" He looked up as if just noticing Alvin looking at him. "Oh… Yeah I'm fine… Just fine."

"Come on Theo, tell us what's wrong," Jeanette said. "You barely said a thing since we got here."

"Yeah Theodore, spill it. What's going on?" Caleb asked.

Theodore finally stopped tapping his finger and looked around nervously. "Um… Ok well… Alvin have you talked to Dave?"

Alvin was confused now. "No. I lost my cellphone on the way here. Why, did something happen?"

" Uh, well not really. He called me and told me he couldn't get to you." He said and paused. _Is that what was bothering him, _Alvin thought. Then he continued, "Well he told me that he was going to see us later this afternoon but would be gone for the next couple of weeks on a trip. So we'll have the house to ourselves."

Brittany lit up at this. "Are you serious Theo? This is great. Think of all the great parties we can have."

Eleanor laughed. "Didn't you have enough parties at your party school?"

She glared at her. "No El, its not a party school," she retorted. Then she thought of something. "And besides, its not going to be just any party. It'll be like a celebration party. You know, like celebrating for Charlene being back from Paris or…"

"Or celebrating a successful year at college." Jeanette added.

Brittany nodded. "Yeah that's a good one Jeanette. Or… or…"

"Or a welcome back from the mental institution," Theodore said and quickly put a finger sandwich in his mouth.

Everyone's mouth dropped open and they stared at him but he didn't meet anyone in the eyes. Charlene was really confused though. You could see it on her face. "Um… I'm a little lost. What's going on?" She asked.

The rest of them ignored her. They were all really shocked at what just came out of Theodore's mouth. Alvin couldn't believe it. He really hoped this was a joke. Some really twisted joke. He had hoped all that was behind them but Theodore just had to bring it up.

"Theo," Alvin started slowly. "What do you mean exactly. You better not be messing with us."

Theodore gulped and took a sip of his drink. "Well, I told you mostly what Dave said… He said he wouldn't be he and won't but Simon will." Brittany gasped and he saw Jeanette turn completely pale.

"Theodore, please say you don't mean that." Eleanor said.

"Sorry El, no. Simon's coming back… Today," he added.

* * *

**Da Da Da Daaaa! Ohhhh So what do you think their gonna do. Even I'm not sure what will happen next R&R.**

**Hope you like it. I also love ideas so pm me about whatever. Thanks for reading.**


	2. Don't Worry

**Hello everyone. Hope you enjoy my new chapter**

**Note: The reason I haven't updated my first story is because an incompetent friend of mine erased it from my laptop. Grr.**

**Since I'll just have to rewrite it later and this one was half way done, I just decided to post this one.**

**Enjoy.**

* * *

Alvin couldn't believe what he was hearing. Simon was coming back right when everyone was ready to forget what had happened a few years earlier.

"Theodore, why are you just telling us now," Alvin said angrily.

"I can't believe this is happening," Brittany said. She hoped up and accidentally spilled her drink onto the floor and nervously started pacing.

"Sorry Alvin," Theodore said nervously. "I wasn't sure how you would handle it and-" Theodore cut off and looked away.

Alvin grabbed Theodore by the shoulders and made him look at him. "Theo you should have told us!" HE was practically yelling in panic.

"Wait everyone," Charlene said. "Tell me what's going on please."

She looked around and everyone was practically ignoring her. Jeanette was quiet but looked completely pale and Brittany was still pacing and looked really upset.

"Theodore, why didn't Dave call and tell me earlier?" Alvin asked.

"Well he didn't find out until the other day," Theodore explained. "He tried to get you but you lost your cellphone!" He said accusingly.

"Hey! Don't point this at me! It's not my fault my cellphone was gone!" Then he looked over at Caleb.

"Well Alvin you shouldn't of asked me to keep it when you know I don't keep track of stuff well," he defended. "But that still doesn't change the fact that Simon's coming and Theodore didn't tell us!"

"Everyone, hold on-," but she was interrupted by Jeanette.

"Oh no! This cannot be happening!" She wailed.

Brittany stopped her pacing and looked at her. "Oh yeah Jen this is happening." Then she looked around. "Where's my purse? I've gotta get out of here!"

That's when everyone started talking at once. Charlene was still sitting there trying to get the others attention as they ignored her and went on with their panicked frenzy. Everyone seemed upset and she was so confused she finally decided to shout to get everyone's attention. "Excuse me, but what's going on!"

Finally they all stopped and looked back at her. In their panic they all had forgotten that Charlene had no idea what was going on.

Alvin took a deep breath. "Sorry Charlene. I guess we all got a little carried away."

While he said that, Eleanor got up and tore some paper towels from the roll and started to wipe up the long forgotten mess. Theodore got up to help her.

"It's ok Alvin. Can you just tell me why you all are acting so weird," she said. "Where _is_ Simon?"

"Didn't you hear Theodore?" Brittany said. "He's in an Asylum!"

"Correction Brittany," Caleb cut in. "He _was _in an Asylum."

"And now, he's out." Jeanette said fearfully.

Eleanor had thrown the paper towels away and put her paw on Jeanette's shoulder. "Calm down Jen, it'll be all right."

"Yeah sure El. Just wait 'til that wack job gets here," Brittany muttered.

Brittany walked back over to the table and crossed her arms as she sat down.

"So wait a minute," Charlene said trying to clear her head. "You mean he's seriously gone to a mental hospital. You mean like… for crazy people?" she said gulping.

Alvin answered back, "Yeah Charlene. You see… the summer after you left, a little accident happened in Simon's lab while he was there and-" he stopped for a second trying think of what to say. "Well anyway Simon started to change and then something really awful happened."

Charlene gasped. "What happened?"

"You don't wanna know," Theodore stated.

"But that's not the point now," Alvin said. "Right now we have to deal with Simon coming back."

"You're right, but what are we going to do about it?" Brittany asked.

"Well we'll just have to put the past behind us. You know forget what Simon did. I mean… if their letting him out the must mean he's better, right?

They all just looked at him. Alvin knew that this was going to be a lot harder than he was making it sound. But what could they do? Maybe Simon would be his normal self again. They just had to give him a chance. He wasn't sure though if the others could do it. He wasn't even sure if _he _could do it, but they had to try.

"Well Alvin, I have to agree with you," Jeanette said, finally breaking the long silence. "Simon has to be better now. Maybe everything will be all right. I'll do it."

"So will I," Theodore said. "He is our brother after all."

Eleanor smiled, "Me too."

"Count me in," Caleb said

"Of course you can count on me," Charlene said.

Then everyone looked at Brittany. She sighed then shook her head unhappily. "Fine. I'll do it but I still don't like it."

"Really Britt," Alvin said. "I'm sure everything will turn out fine. We'll still have a great summer."

Alvin really hoped he was right.

* * *

It was about two hours later when everyone sat in the living room and waited. Caleb was standing at the window looking out for Dave's car. Alvin was standing by near the wall thinking to himself while Brittany was pacing the living room floor. The other three girls sat on the couch nervously.

The only reason the tension hadn't risen to high was because Theodore had decided to bake welcome back cookies and the smell lingered in the air. He was still in the kitchen cleaning up.

"Brittany," Eleanor said, sounding irritated. "Can you stop pacing. Your making everyone nervous."

"Well Eleanor, how do you think I feel?"

"Britt, please, just sit down," Jeanette begged

Brittany breathed a sigh of defeat and went to sit down in the arm chair.

A few minutes later Caleb looked back from the window. "Their here!" He called to the others.

Right after he said that everyone heard a loud clatter noise come from the kitchen and it made them all jump. "Sorry everyone," Theodore called nervously from the kitchen.

They all rolled their eyes and sat back down.

"Okay everyone," Alvin said. "I'll go outside and greet Si, you all just stay here and try to act normal. Got it?"

They all nodded and Alvin headed out the door. When he got outside he saw Dave say something and get out of the car.

"Hey Dave!" Alvin called

"Hey Alvin," he called back. "Come help with some of this stuff."

Alvin walked over but stopped by the passenger side seat when he saw someone get out. It was Simon.

Alvin was also surprised to see that Simon looked a little different but not the way he'd thought Simon would look even though he wasn't sure what that was.

Simon had gotten taller and he was wearing his normal blue hoodie and dark blue jeans. He also was wearing a blue cap and Alvin was surprised to see he wasn't wearing glasses. But what really shocked Alvin was the fact that Simon looked stronger than he remembered. He wondered if they let people work out over there.

Simon slammed the car door and looked over to see Alvin studying him. "I assume I still seem crazy to you, don't I?"

"For goodness sake's Simon," Dave said bringing the bags to where Alvin and Simon were standing. "You've been negative the whole ride home."

"Well Si, it's good to see you haven't changed," Alvin said looking him up and down. "Much," he added.

They all grabbed the bags and started toward the house.

"You know, Charlene is here," Alvin told Simon.

"Really, she's not in Paris anymore?"

"No. She decided to come here for the summer. Kind of a last minute thing."

Then they reached the door and walked inside. The delicious smell of chocolate chip cookies hit them as they walked through the door. Theodore greeted them as they headed near the stairs.

"Hey Si," Theodore said, running up and hugging Simon. "Great to see you. I baked some chocolate chip cookies."

"Hey Theo, they smell great."

"Simon, why don't you go see the others. Alvin and I will go put your stuff in your room," Dave said.

"But Dave, I want a cookie while there're still some left," Alvin said.

"Alvin…" He said and glared.

Alvin sighed in defeat. "Okay, fine."

Simon and Theodore headed to the living room while Dave and Alvin took the bags upstairs. When they got to Simon's room they put the stuff down. Dave then sat on the bed with a grim expression on his face. "Alvin, we need to talk."

"What's wrong Sunshine?'

"Alvin, don't test me today."

"Sorry Dave," he said and sat down next to him on the bed. "What's up?"

"Well you know I have to go on this trip, even if I don't want to, and leave Simon with you guys," he said and continued. "So, and I can't believe I'm saying this, but Alvin, you have to make sure Simon stays out and far away from any trouble while I'm gone, okay?"

"Okay Dave."

"Oh, and also make sure Simon takes his medication." He added.

Alvin was confused. "He has medication?"

"Just some stuff the hospital gave him," he said. "And make sure to call me if anything goes wrong, ok?

Alvin stood up. "Don't worry Dave, I got this."

"Ok Alvin, I'm counting on you." After he said that he stood up and walked out.

Alvin rolled his eyes and started walking out the door. _He should stop worrying,_ Alvin thought. _Everything's going to be just fine._

Right?

* * *

**So is Simon really ok now or is there more to the story.**

**Definitaly More! Hope you like it. R&R!**


	3. Overreacting

**Hello patient readers! Thanks for all the reviews.**

**I also been having sooo many internet problems that have been getting on my damn nerves and I can't update without it so I've got to call my internet company and give them a piece of my mind.**

**Note: Also, I've been getting a lot of messages asking me about what happened to Simon and I promise that when I post that chapter you will all get a detailed letters, but for now we will focus on the story =)**

**Oh and even though I'm not into the whole humor thing since I'm not that good at it, I've decided to make the first part of this chapter for entertainment. **

**So to stop babbling I now give you the story.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Alvin was still thinking to himself about Simon as he walked down the stairs. What Dave had said still kind of shocked him. He never thought he'd be the one put in charge of Simon. He decided it was best to be subtle about it though. He didn't think it was good to make Simon think they didn't trust him.

He walked to the kitchen and poured a glass of lemonade. Then he walked toward the living room. Stopping at the door he heard voices coming from the room and he was relieved that everything seemed to be going well. _Well, at least no one's freaked out… yet,_ he thought and walked in the room.

When he walked in Caleb looked at him and smiled. "Hey, Al. Where were you?"

"Yeah Alvin, you missed all the cookies," Eleanor said.

Charlene picked up a napkin and wiped off her hands. "Yes, and they were delicious." Then she looked over at Theodore, "Great baking Theo."

"I can give you the recipe before you leave if you want, Charlene," he offered.

"No way Theodore, I'd end up going to the gym at least three times a day."

"You know guys," Alvin said taking a seat on the couch. "You could've saved me one."

"Sorry Alvin, I wasn't thinking about it," Theodore said.

Alvin looked over to see Simon sitting in the armchair. He seemed to be thinking of something since he hadn't said anything. It was also obvious he wasn't listening to the other. _I wonder what he's thinking about,_ Alvin thought. Then he looked over and saw Brittany staring at Simon through narrowed eyes.

_That can't be good…_

Then he heard a noise behind him. When he looked he saw Dave and some suitcases he had just set down.

"Well everyone, I'd better get going," He said.

"You're leaving already?" Theodore asked.

"Yeah Theodore, I want an early start so I won't get stuck in traffic." Then he looked over at Alvin. "Remember guys, no wild house parties, got it?"

"Don't worry Dave, you don't have to tell _me_," he said then looked over at Brittany who just turned her head away.

"Okay, have fun you guys."

"See ya Dave," Theodore said. "Oh! And I left you a cookie in the kitchen," he added quickly. Alvin's mouth dropped open.

"Thanks Theodore," he said as he picked up his stuff. "Bye everyone," he called as he headed out the living room.

"Bye Dave," everyone called as he left.

After he left things got pretty quiet. It seemed as though no one was sure what to say. That was… until Brittany spoke up.

"So Simon," she said with that suspicious look on her face._ Oh no…_ was Alvin's only thought. "How was the Asylum?"

Everyone's mouth dropped open and Simon stared at her strangely. _That was forward,_ was the only thing running through Alvin's mind. "What do you mean?" Simon asked.

"I mean, what was it like there."

He took a sip of his drink and thought to himself for a moment. "Well… kind of hard to explain. But it was pretty boring. I read a lot between the daily sessions we had to go to," he said putting his glass down.

"What do you mean by 'sessions'?" Brittany asked.

Alvin did not like where this conversation seemed to be going.

"Well, it was just something everybody had to go to about three times a day. We would sit in groups and talk about our problems."

"Okay, so what _was _your pro-"

"Hey Simon, I've been meaning to ask you," Jeanette said thankfully cutting in before Brittany went any farther. "Why aren't you wearing glasses?"

He looked confused for a minute. "Oh, well I'm just used to not having to put them on since they don't let you wear them all the time there."

"Why don't you just where contacts there?" Charlene asked.

"They don't allow them. Something about them being a choking hazard," he replied.

Caleb had to cover his mouth to stop himself from laughing. Alvin nudged him hard in the ribs and gave him a warning look.

"Oh, you mean so those patients don't confuse it with their pills?" She asked

"Uh… yeah pretty much," he said.

_Brittany, please stop…._ Alvin couldn't believe she was doing this and had to find a way to stop the conversation.

"So your saying you couldn't… or…. Just _wouldn't," _she probed.

"I'm not sure what you mean."

"You know exactly what I mean," she said and crossed her arms.

"Okay… I might but-"

But Brittany cut him off. "Ha! So you admit it!" She accused.

Alvin jumped off the couch. "Hey Brittany, come with me to the kitchen to get more lemonade."

"But-" to late. Alvin grabbed her wrist and pulled her into the kitchen.

He turned her around and made her face him. "What are you doing in there," he whispered.

"What do you think!" she said and Alvin shushed her. She rolled her eyes and walked over to the refrigerator and pulled out the pitcher of lemonade. "I'm trying to see if he's still crazy," she said more quietly.

"Britt, he's fine."

"Yeah but Alvin didn't you hear him," she said pouring the glass of lemonade and putting the pitcher away. "It's obvious he's on some kind of medication."

"I know that Brittany," he said trying to keep his voice low.

"And you can stand there and say he's fine," she whispered harshly. "Tell me Alvin, what the hell is that medication for." He didn't say anything. "See! How can you be so sure that he is fine? He's crazy!"

"Brittany, you're blowing this way out of proportion!"

"No I'm not! Something's wrong with him. I can feel it!" Brittany said and turned to leave.

"No, you're just overreacting!" He said his voice rising at her arrogance.

"I am not!" She shouted angrily.

"Yes you are!" He shouted back.

They started to go back and forth shouting at each other. Meanwhile, the others in the living room were trying to ignore the two fighting in the kitchen.

"Are they fighting in there?" Simon asked.

Theodore laughed nervously. "Uh… They really missed each other."

Simon rolled his eyes as Brittany and Alvin continued to shout in the kitchen. Then they all heard a crash that made them jump. "Just wait Alvin! You'll see!" She screamed and stormed back in the living room and sat down with her arms crossed.

"So… Everything go ok?" Caleb asked.

"Yeah," she replied. "Just fine."

Back in the kitchen, Alvin was still steaming. He looked down at the shattered glass that Brittany had thrown on the floor and sighed. _I can't believe her,_ he thought shaking his head.

He walked over and picked up the broom to start cleaning up the glass. His mind though was still stuck on what Brittany had said. What was that medication really for. Was he still sick? Maybe it was just something to help him sleep or something really was wrong… _No Alvin, stop it! Brittany's just got you paranoid is all._

After convincing himself of that, he finished cleaning up the mess. Then he took a deep breath and walked back into the living room.

* * *

Luckily after that everything else went a little better. It was about an hour later when Charlene checked her watch. "Oh, well it's getting late," she stood up and stretched. "Hey Caleb, do you mind dropping off at the store. There are some things I want to pick up before I go back to my apartment."

He shook his head. "No problem." He got up and looked over at the chipettes. "You three want me to drive you home too?"

"No thanks," Jeanette said. "I think we'll just walk."

"Yeah, we'll see you guys tomorrow when we all go swimming," Eleanor said.

"Okay, bye Alvin." They all said their goodbyes and started to leave. Simon had gone upstairs and Theodore was in the kitchen washing dishes. Alvin was standing at the door watching everybody leave but Brittany turned back and gave him a hard look.

"You'd better watch out Alvin," she said.

"Goodbye Brittany," he said and closed the door.

He rolled his eyes and walked into the kitchen. He saw Theodore standing at the sink washing the dishes. An idea popped up in Alvin's head and he quietly tip toed over to Theodore. Sneaking up behind him, Alvin grabbed Theodore on the shoulders. "Boo!"

Theodore let out a yell and turned around. But to Alvin's surprise something came across his head and hit him hard. "Ouch! Theodore what's wrong with you!"

"Oh, Alvin it's just you. Why'd you scare me?" he accused.

"Well why did you hit me in the head with a spoon!" He said pointing to the silver thing in Theodore's hand.

"It's not a spoon Alvin, it's a ladle."

"Does that really matter Theo?"

"I guess not," he said throwing the ladle back in the sink. "What do you think you were doing sneaking up on me like that anyway?"

"I thought it would be funny and it was, until you hit me over the head," he replied taking an ice pack out of the freezer.

"Sorry," he said draining the sink. He reached over and picked up a dishcloth. "So what was with Brittany earlier?"

"Who knows? She was just acting crazy," he said. "Speaking of crazy, I'm going to go talk to Simon. Mind if I borrow your ladle?" He asked laughing.

Theodore's cheeks turned bright red. "Just go Alvin."

* * *

Alvin walked upstairs and stopped at Simon's door. He started to knock but then stopped. He put his ear up to the door and started listening. Simon had said he was going to finish unpacking but the strange thing was he didn't hear anything. He could see that the light was on but it was so silent. He started to listen more intently for the slightest sound or noise.

"What are you doing?" A voice said behind him.

Alvin gasped and turned around. To his surprise he saw Simon standing right behind him. He noticed that Simon's hair was wet and he had a towel around his neck.

"Oh! Hey Simon, I was just seeing if you were in your room," he explained quickly.

"Really," he said with narrowed eyes. "'Cause you've been standing there for a long time."

_Dammit! How long has he been watching me?_

"Well," he said getting Alvin's attention. "Did you want to go in?"

"Uh… Sure." He opened the door and let Simon go in first. When they walked in Alvin saw that Simon had his suitcases in the bed and most of them were open. All except one which was black and slightly smaller. He wondered what was in it.

He looked back over at Simon who was putting clothes away in the drawers. "Hey Si, what's in there?" He asked pointing to the small suitcase.

"Nothing," he said and walked over and sat on the edge of his bed. "Alvin, can I ask you something?"

"Okay," he sat down next to him. "What's wrong?"

"Tell me Alvin, do you still think I'm crazy?"

Alvin stood up and thought to himself for a moment. "Okay well… Do you want the truth or the nice answer?"

"Eh, the nice answer would be good."

"Okay, well then I think you're completely fine and that you shouldn't let Brittany or anyone else make you think otherwise."

"Thanks," he said turning his head away.

"But," he continued and put his paw on Simon's shoulder. "The truth is that your my brother and no matter what nothing's going to change that."

"I appreciate that Alvin." He stood up and looked around. "Well I guess I'm gonna finish unpacking."

"Here let me help," Alvin said and reached down and clicked open the small suitcase. Just as he was lifting it up Simon closed it and snatched it away. "Hey! What did you do that for?"

"I'll finish unpacking by myself," he said and put the suitcase in the closet.

"Um… Kay?" _Why is he acting so weird?_ Alvin thought. "I guess I'll just go get ready for bed." Simon didn't reply and kept on unpacking. "Well, goodnight," he said and headed back to his room.

* * *

**Yes! This chapter toke me forever to finish. Well anyway I hoped you liked it.**

**So What do you think is in that suitcase? Who knows...**

**Well anyway tell what you think of the chapter.**

**Review, Review, Review! Thanks.**


	4. Missing

**Hello readers! **

**I'm sorry that I am updating so late.**

**Finally I have found time to write chapter four since I've been so busy. **

**I made this chapter extra-long for not updating sooner.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

_Thump, thump, thump_

Alvin woke up to the noise. At first he thought it was best to ignore it until he heard it again. This time it was a little louder.

_Thump, thump, thump_

He sat his head up and sleepily looked at the alarm clock. _Who is up making noise at 2:15 in the morning?_ He thought. Looking around the room he didn't notice anything wrong or out of place.

_Thump, thump, thump_

_Footsteps! _He thought. Alvin reached down to his bottom drawer and pulled out a flashlight. Silently, he slipped out of bed and quietly walked over to the door. He put his ear up to the door and listened. Hearing no more noise, he opened it and looked out.

After making sure he heard no noise, he slipped out his room and closed his door. Walking in the dark for a minute, he heard a quick sound. He tried turning on his flashlight but all it did was click.

He sighed. _Great, the batteries are dead._

Turning around, he walked right into someone. He fell backward and saw a light flashing in his eyes.

"Ouch," he heard the other person say.

"Theodore?"

He reached over and picked up the flashlight and flashed it in Alvin's face. "Alvin! Thank goodness it's just you."

"Yeah it's me," he said shielding his eyes. "Now, can you please point that thing away from my face?"

"Oh! Sorry." He stood up and helped Alvin up.

"Hey, do you have any batteries?" Alvin asked.

"Yeah." He reached in his pocket and pulled two out. "I had to put some in my flashlight too."

Alvin unscrewed the top and put the batteries in the flashlight. "What are you doing up?" He asked, putting the top back on.

"I heard footsteps," he replied. "So I got up, put some batteries in my flashlight and came out here and ran into you."

"Well if we both heard footsteps at least it means were not just paranoid." He looked around with his flashlight. "Everything seems normal."

Theodore gasped. "Maybe it's the burglars!" He said fearfully.

"What burglars?" Alvin asked, confused.

"You know, the ones from the museum," He explained. "They jumped the guards. It was all over the news. I heard they got away with millions worth of valuable stuff."

"Yeah Theo, I'm sure they broke in here to steal all our priceless vases," Alvin said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "You think they know about the mummy we keep in the basement?"

"Ha ha, very funny Alvin." He looked around and his flashlight landed on Simon's door. They both noticed it was halfway open. Alvin could have sworn it was closed before he went to bed. "Have you seen Simon?" Theodore asked.

Alvin shook his head. "No. But let's go see if he's awake."

With Theodore behind him, Alvin quietly walked over to Simon's door. When they got there Alvin turned his head toward Theodore and put his finger over his mouth to signal Theodore to be quiet. He nodded and clicked off his flashlight.

Alvin looked into the room. It was dark so he flashed his light around the room. When it landed on Simon's bed he was surprised to actually see him sleeping. _Well, if he's asleep who was walking around?_

He looked back at Theodore and shook his head. Closing the door, Theodore turned his flashlight back on. "Then who was up walking?"

"That's what were gonna find out." Turning away he headed for the steps with Theodore behind him.

Downstairs, Alvin motioned Theodore closer. "Ok, you take the kitchen and I'll take the living room," he whispered. Theodore nodded and headed toward the kitchen. Alvin went into the living room.

In the room, he flashed the light around. He was relieved to see no one was there. Checking the room, he saw nothing was out of place. He then walked down the hall to the front door. It was still locked and he turned and went into the kitchen.

When he got in there, he was surprised to see the back door open. Then Theodore walked in. "Theodore, what are you doing outside?"

"Oh. I uh… was seeing if anyone was there." He closed the door and walked over to Alvin. "It was open when I came in here."

"So you didn't see anyone?"

He shook his head. "Nope. Did you see anything?"

"Nothing," he replied. "Whoever it was isn't here now."

"Well, we should go back upstairs," Theodore said and yawned.

"I guess you're right," Alvin said. They both walked back upstairs.

"Are you going to bed?" Theodore asked opening his door to his room.

Alvin looked at Simon's door. "Not just yet."

Theodore followed his gaze. "Ok, goodnight." Then walked in his room and closed the door.

Alvin turned on his flashlight and walked over to Simon's door. He opened it and tip toed into the room being as quiet as he could. He walked over to Simon's bed and looked down. _Well, he's sleep._

Turning around without paying much attention, he felt his knee hit the nightstand. "Ow!" he let out the yell without thinking about it.

"Alvin?" He heard from behind him and turned around. Alvin saw Simon and He flashed the light in his face. Simon squinted. "What in the world are you doing in here?"

"Oh, hey Si," he said uncertain of what to say. "You uh… Startled me."

"Well what a coincidence since you're the one in my room." He sat up and put his glasses on. "What exactly are you doing in here anyway?"

"I came in here to ask if you heard anything'" Alvin explained.

"You came in here at two in the morning to ask me if I heard anything?" He asked skeptically.

Alvin nodded. "Yeah you know… Any footsteps or noises, things like that."

"No Alvin. The only noise I've heard is you in my room."

"Heh, ok, well I'm sorry for waking you up. Theodore and I thought were heard someone walking around," he went on explaining.

"So did you find the source of your mysterious footsteps?" Simon asked.

Alvin shook his head. "No. But we did find the back door open. I'm guessing whatever it was left, but nothing seems disturbed."

"It was probably just nothing," Simon said lying back down. "Well, I'm going back to bed."

"Yeah, I guess I should go back to bed too." Walking out the room, Alvin closed the door and headed to his room. Stopping outside his door he leaned against the wall and started to think to himself.

_I know I heard something,_ he thought to himself. He couldn't help but think that maybe it had been some burglar but got scared and ran away. Or maybe it really was Simon and he just wasn't telling them. But he couldn't really prove that. _Unless…_

That's when the thought struck him. He thought back to the back door being open. Someone had gone outside. _So maybe…._ Turning on his flashlight again Alvin headed downstairs.

In the hallway he stopped and looked around. Soon his eyes landed on the shoes in the hallway. Hurrying over, he looked down and saw Simon's sneakers. Turning them over he saw that there were fresh dirt marks on them. _So that means he had to of gone outside earlier… but why? _

Still kneeling down, Alvin set the shoes back and started thinking to himself. _Ok so if he did go outside why deny it? Unless there's something he doesn't want me to know…_

Alvin stayed there for a few more minutes before sighing and standing.

"Are you done?"

Startled Alvin turned around and almost tripped. "Simon," he said facing his brother. "What are you doing down here?"

"I could ask you the same thing," he said suspiciously and pointing to the shoes. "But since you want to know, I came down here to get a glass of water." Then he held it up. "So, what are you doing down here?"

Alvin was momentarily shocked. He couldn't believe Simon had come down here and hadn't made a sound. _That couldn't have been him earlier. _"Oh….Uh… Nothing really. Just making sure everything was still here, like our shoes," he said pointing to them.

"Mmm hmmm, is that all?" Simon asked obviously not believing him.

"Yeah, well since everything seems to be fine I'm just going to go back to bed." Alvin yawned and headed back upstairs and into his room before Simon could ask any more questions.

* * *

It had taken Alvin a little while to get back to sleep after that. So, of course it felt like he hadn't gotten ant sleep when he heard his alarm clock ringing like crazy.

He let out a frustrated grunt but the ringing persisted. _Damn,_ he thought and hit the snooze button.

Only a few minutes later he heard knocking on the door. "Alvin!" He heard Theodore shout. "You better get up if you want any breakfast!"

Sighing, Alvin got up and started to get ready. A few minutes later he was downstairs. In the kitchen he saw Theodore cooking what smelled like bacon. Over at the table he saw Simon and Caleb sitting there drinking orange juice.

"Ah Theo, bacon and pancakes, my favorite," Caleb said putting down his glass.

"You know Caleb, you could have cooked at home yourself," Theodore said glancing over at him.

"Yeah Caleb why are you here?" Alvin asked heading toward the fridge.

"You don't expect me to stay at home with my annoying siblings, do you?"

"That was kind of the idea," Alvin said searching the refrigerator. "Hey! Where's all the orange juice?"

"Caleb drank the last of it," Simon said looking over at him.

"Try milk Alvin," Theodore advised him. "I heard it's good for your system, or something like that. Or I can make you a cup of coffee?"

"No Theo, I'm fine," he said lazily and walked over to the table and sat in the empty chair next to Caleb. "Why couldn't you've stayed home this morning?"

"Well my sisters love to start the day off with arguing so I got up early and headed over here," he explained. "You know, I wouldn't be drinking your orange juice if you guys kept beer in the house."

"In the morning?" Simon raised his eyebrow questioningly.

"Yes in the morning Simon," Caleb said. "It starts my day off right. But no, I'm stuck drinking orange juice," he picked up his glass and examined it closely. "And it doesn't even have any pulp. You three are no fun."

"Well sorry Caleb, but we haven't had time to go grocery shopping," Theodore said bringing over their plates. "But hopefully we'll get to soon."

After breakfast Alvin and the reluctant Caleb were cleaning the dishes while Simon and Theodore got ready for the beach. Alvin had gotten ready the night before so he was cleaning up with Caleb.

"…The chipettes called and said that they should be here soon. I haven't heard from Charlene though," Caleb was saying. "So, how was your first night back in months?"

"Good," Alvin replied. "A little strange, but good."

"What do you mean, strange?"

"I mean strange as in footsteps," Alvin explained. "I think maybe someone was in the house last night."

"Really! Maybe it was a burglar, or some secret agent… Or maybe you guys are being targeted for some type of drug Ops!" Caleb said, obviously excited by the idea.

Alvin rolled his eyes. "I hope not."

"On to a different subject," Caleb whispered and looked back to see if anyone was there. "What do you think Brittany's gonna do today?"

"Who knows," Alvin said and turned the sink off. "She's unpredictable."

* * *

"Ugh! It's so hot!" Brittany said, walking in the living room with Alvin and her sisters behind her.

"I know, I thought I was going to die on the way over here," Eleanor put in. The girls set their stuff down and said hi to Simon and Caleb.

"The news said it was over a hundred degrees right now," Theodore said walking in.

"Thanks for the good news Theo," Alvin said glumly.

"Where's Charlene?" Jeanette asked.

"Not here yet," Caleb said. "She told me last night that she'd meet us here but I haven't heard from her since then."

Brittany fell back on the armchair annoyed. "Well, I hope she hurries up. I'm not waiting here forever."

"She's probably died from the heat wave," Eleanor said.

"I'm going to go upstairs and use the restroom," Jeanette said and left.

"Well let's at least put your stuff in my truck," Caleb said standing up.

"Okay," Eleanor said standing up. "Hey Simon, help us with Jen's stuff."

He nodded and set his bag down. "Okay."

Alvin got up to help them as they headed out but stopped when he heard the phone ring. He walked over and picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"Alvin! Hey, what's going on?" A familiar voice said.

"Charlene! Where are you?" Alvin asked.

"Can't you hear the background, I'm near the beach. What about you?"

"Still at home waiting for you," he told her.

"Well, I texted Caleb and told him I was going to walk. My apartment's not far. And besides, I woke up late this morning," she explained. "I'm still getting used to the time difference."

"Oh, well I don't think he has his cell. Don't worry we'll be there soon," Alvin said. "Don't go swimming without us."

"Okay, but hurry! It's so hot out here I'm about to die!" She said and hung up.

Alvin was about to put the receiver down when someone startled him. "Check his bag!" Someone whispered.

Surprised, Alvin dropped the phone and turned around as it hit the floor. He wasn't surprised though when he saw who it was.

"Brittany! What's wrong with you," he said.

"I said, check his bag," she hissed and pointed down to Simon's blue beach bag.

Alvin gave her an angry look. "Brittany, I'm gonna make this simple for you. No."

He reached down and picked up the receiver from the floor and put it back on its hook. Then she grabbed his arm out of frustration. "Don't you want to know what he's hiding?"

"Yes Brittany, because I'm sure he's taking his machete to the pool," he replied sarcastically.

"Ha ha, thanks for the sarcasm," she said obviously not humored. Then a thought struck her. "Wait, does he really have a machete?"

Alvin flared and threw his hat down on the couch. "No Brittany! He doesn't! What in hell would he use one for!"

"Who knows…. Maybe he used it for-" she started but cut her off.

"No! No, no, no, no, no, no! I know where you're going with this and don't!" He went over and picked up the last of the stuff. "You will never speak of it again. None of us will." He started walking out.

"But-"

"Never!" Then he stormed out the door leaving Brittany there still angry. She looked at Alvin's hat on the couch. _I can't believe that jerk…_

* * *

Soon everything was packed away and everyone was ready to go. "Okay everyone, let's head for the beach!" Caleb said excitedly.

About fifteen minutes later, they were finally there. They all piled out the truck and started pulling their stuff.

"Hey guys! I see you finally made it." They turned around to see Charlene heading to them. By the time she got to them she was panting but smiling. "I've been waiting forever."

"Well next time give us a notice," Caleb said.

"I did text you ya know," she defended.

"It's so hot, how'd you get here without dying of thirst?" Jeanette asked.

Charlene shrugged. "Like I said, I don't live too far. But I guess the heat doesn't bother me as much."

"Enough chit chat, let's go find a place to put our stuff," Brittany said impatiently.

"Oh, there's a nice spot over there," Charlene said pointing toward the right. "That's where I put my stuff."

"Well let's go," Alvin said letting Charlene lead the way.

Once they got there everyone set their stuff up and took out water bottles from the cooler. _So far so good,_ Alvin thought.

"Hey Simon!" Alvin heard Brittany shout. When he looked back he saw her walking toward Simon.

_Shit, _he thought. _Why is she trying to ruin today?_ Thinking quickly, he grabbed the surf boards and quickly walked over to where Simon was talking with Theodore and Caleb. "Hey Si, come surfing with me," he said eagerly.

"Uh… Okay," he replied. He looked back at the other two. "You guys coming?"

Theodore shook his head and Caleb replied, "I'll meet up with you two later."

"Okay, let's hurry up Simon," Alvin said walking away quickly with a very confused Simon following. Glancing back, Alvin caught Brittany glaring angrily behind him. _Phew! _

"Wait, did Brittany want something?" Simon asked.

"No. Nothing important," Alvin replied, and to himself he added, _Trust me._

* * *

Luckily, Alvin had succeeded in keeping Brittany away from Simon without much notice. It had gotten late and everyone was standing outside Caleb's car in front of the chipmunk's house. Besides that, everything had gone great.

"Can I use your guys' bathroom?" Charlene asked as Theodore and Simon started pulling their stuff out the truck.

"Sure," Theodore said. "Follow us." Then she walked inside behind the two brothers.

The others stayed outside talking while they waited for the others. Caleb pulled Alvin aside to talk to him privately. "So it seems as though everything went well," he whispered, then chuckled. "How was keeping Si away from Brittany all day?"

"A pain in the ass," he replied and shook his head. "She just doesn't give up. But, it was worth it."

"Yeah I guess," Caleb replied and then asked, "Why aren't you wearing your hat today?"

"Oh yeah! I realized that after we got to the beach and my head was hot," Alvin explained. "I was so mad at Brittany I left it on the couch in the living room without thinking about it."

They walked back over to where the girls were and Alvin noticed Eleanor was gone. "Where's El?" He asked.

"She went in to get something to drink," Jeanette said. Just then the four walked back out talking. Charlene had changed and Eleanor was carrying a bottle of water.

"You girls ready to go?" Caleb asked getting back into his truck.

They nodded and said their goodbyes as they all piled into the truck. Alvin had just finished taking his bag out when he looked back and saw Brittany smiling smugly at him. "Bye, Alvin. Have fun tonight." And with a satisfied smiled she hopped into the truck and Caleb drove off.

_I wonder what that was about_, he thought confused. Trying to shake what she said out of his head, he walked back into the house.

Once inside he set his stuff down and walked into the living room. Over at the couch he reached down for his hat but when he looked his eyes widened in surprise. _My hat… It's gone!_

* * *

Alvin crawled in to bed that night frustrated and tired. He had been thinking for the past couple of hours and his head was starting to hurt. He still couldn't believe his hat had just disappeared. _Well, staying up thinking about it isn't gonna help,_ he thought and clicked his light off.

It didn't feel like any time had passed since he fell asleep when he heard a big thump. Even though he was half asleep, he knew the noise wasn't footsteps this time. It sounded as something dropped or someone fell.

Glancing over at the clock with one eye, he saw it was just past about the night before, he didn't feel like going on another fruitless search in the middle of the night. _Just forget it, _he thought and drifted back off to sleep.

It was past nine when Alvin got up the next morning. Downstairs, he didn't see or hear anybody in the kitchen. He guessed that the others weren't home.

Walking over to the refrigerator, he opened it and saw that no one had gone grocery shopping. He sighed and closed the door. _Once again, I wake up juiceless._

Then Theodore walked in the kitchen with a very confused and worried look on his face. "Hey Theo," Alvin said but Theodore didn't respond. "You do know where you are, right?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," he replied and sat down without even looking at his brother.

"You know Theo, I would ask you what's wrong but then you would tell me and then I would be expected to do something about it," he said and sat down in the chair. "So I'll change the subject. Did you go grocery shopping yet?"

"That's the problem… I can't," he replied.

"Why, what's wrong. Hold on let me guess. You went but the store had disappeared, no… There was a bear in you back seat. Wait, I got a better one. Your car was gone and in its place my hat was there."

"You still can't find it?"

"Nope, and I looked everywhere for it. It was just…. Gone," Alvin said glumly.

'Well your hat isn't the only thing missing," Theodore mumbled.

"What do you mean," Alvin asked, confused.

"Come with me," Theodore said and motioned to the garage. Once in there Alvin saw Theodore's red car in its usual spot. "Now Alvin, tell me what you see," Theodore said.

"Um, okay. I see your car, windshield, windshield wipers, three tires, rearview mirrors and… Wait what!" Alvin's mouth dropped open when he noticed that Theodore's front left tire was missing.

"Theo! How did? Wha- why?"

"Exactly what I said." Theodore walked over to the car. "I can't believe this. And still… Why only one tire, why not take all four."

"Who knows Theo maybe you misplaced it," Alvin said walking around the car. "Are you sure they were all there?"

"No Alvin. Actually I drove over a hundred miles here with only three tires!" He said sarcastically.

"No need to raise you r voice Theodore. We'll go get you a new tire."

"Yeah, but these tires were special brand and expensive. It'll probably take weeks to get here."

"Well, call the insurance company and report vandalism," Alvin told him.

"For one tire?"

Alvin shrugged. "Well that's the best thing I can think of."

They both walked back inside and into the kitchen. Theodore sat down obviously upset and Alvin was trying to figure out what to tell him.

"Maybe she's right," Theodore said after a long silence. "Maybe Si has snapped."

"Theodore, don't tell me you've been listening to Brittany." Theodore didn't reply. "Well she doesn't know what she's talking about. There has to be some rational explanation for this whole thing with your tire. Trust me, we just have to find it."

Right after he said that, Caleb walked in the kitchen with Eleanor behind them. "Hey guys," he said and sat down.

"What are you two doing here?" Alvin asked.

"Just passing through," Caleb replied.

"The others are off doing something so we thought we'd come see what you three are doing," Eleanor explained. "Hey Theo, what's wrong?"

"He's upset because his tire's gone," Alvin said.

"People shouldn't leave sharp things in the road," Caleb commented.

"No. I mean as in disappeared, no longer there," Alvin said.

"You mean someone stole your tires last night Theo?' She said looking over at him.

He shook his head. "No, just one."

"That doesn't make any sense," she replied, confused.

"Nothing makes sense anymore!" Theodore wailed.

"Don't worry Theo, just call the police," Eleanor said.

"And what, have them laugh at me? I still don't get it myself." He sighed and sat back. "I'll just have to call the insurance company and see what I can do."

"Who knows Theo, maybe it will turn up, safe and sound," Caleb said hopefully. Just then, Simon walked in.

"Hey Si, where were you?" Alvin asked.

"I went for a walk," he said pouring a glass of water.

Caleb and Eleanor looked at each other. "Well, we'd better get going," he said, standing up.

"What's the rush?" Simon asked.

"I have to go make sure all my tires are on my car," Caleb replied. Eleanor gave him a hard look and punched him in the arm. "Ow!"

"Sorry Simon, don't listen to him. We just have to go." And with that they left without saying goodbye.

"Excuse me but I have to go make a phone call," Theodore said abruptly and left.

"What's up with everyone?" Simon asked.

Alvin shrugged. "I don't know anymore," he said and went into the living room.

Once there he sat down on the couch and started thinking to himself about all the strange things happening. _First the footsteps, then my hat goes missing, and now Theo's tire…. Nothing's making sense._

And nothing really was. Ever since Simon had come strange things had been happening but Alvin didn't want to think that Simon was the cause. _So who… Wait, that's it!_ Guessing Theodore was using his cellphone, Alvin reached over and grabbed the phone receiver. _I know who's doing all this._

**

* * *

**

So yes, finally done. Like I said, been real busy.

**Like i, Love it, hate it? R&R**

**Also I hope you all will be excited to know I'll be revealing what Simon did soon. Bye!**


	5. A Plan

**Well here is my next Chapter.**

**I finally found time to put it up.**

**You can also take a look at my poll on my profile **

**Also, please review and tell me what you think. I haven't been getting thee reviews I want so unless I have reviews this time the story will not be finished Sorry, that's just the way it is.**

**Thnx. Enjoy. **

* * *

As the phone rang Alvin waited impatiently for someone to pick up. _Come on… Come on!_

_Click! _"Hello?"

"Brittany, is that you?"

"Oh Alvin, I see you finally come to your senses and called to apologize," she said smugly. "And before you say anything, let me just say, I accept."

"Brittany, I know what you're doing," he accused angrily. "And I want you to stop it!"

"Alvin, I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Don't play dumb Brittany," he went on. "I know you took my hat and Theodore's tire. Not to mention you snuck into the house!" But Brittany didn't reply. "Well, what do you have to say for yourself?"

For a moment she was quiet and Alvin thought she had hung up. "…Tell me, are you on your house phone?" She finally asked.

"Yes, but what does that matter?"

"What if _he's _listening?"

"Brittany, why wou-"

"No," she said quickly, cutting him off short. "I refuse to talk to you on the phone any more as long as that psycho is in your house." Then he heard a click and a dial tone. She had hung up.

_Dammit_! He thought as he slammed the phone down on the receiver. _Well if Brittany wants to talk face to face than that's what we'll do._

He got up and without thinking he reached for his hat. Then, remembering it was missing, he sighed and stalked out the door.

* * *

Alvin knocked loudly on the chipettes door for the second time. The walk there hadn't been long and he still wasn't sure what exactly he was going to say to Brittany but he knew something had to be done.

Finally, Brittany swung the door open. She was obviously angry. "Alvin, will you stop pounding on the door!"

"I want answers Brittany," he demanded.

She looked around suspiciously as though someone was watching. "Okay, come in," she said, moving aside so he could come in. "But I don't know what's so important that you had to race over here and break down my door."

He followed her to the living room. "Brittany, you know exactly why I'm here. You've been trying to make Simon seem crazy," he accused.

"Trust me Alvin, Simon's done a pretty good job of that himself."

"Brittany I can't believe you would do all this just to convince me that something is wrong with Simon!"

"I haven't done a damn thing!" She shot back.

"Stop lying," he said angrily. "I know for a fact that-"

"Uh, hi Alvin," a voice interrupted.

Alvin turned around to see Charlene sitting on the couch looking unsure of whether to go or not. He had been so angry at Brittany that he hadn't relealized that she had been there the whole time. "Oh, hi Charlene." Then he turned back to Brittany. "Why is she here?"

She gave him an annoyed look. "Alvin, Charlene is my guest, because, unlike you, I invited her here!"

Alvin's cheeks turned red as he looked back at the equally embarrassed Charlene. "Uh… sorry about that Charlene I guess I must have interrupted…"

"No, don't worry about it." She stood up and picked up a shopping bag. "I guess you guys need to talk so I'll just be goin-"

"No!" Brittany said, a little too loudly. "I mean, I invited you here so you stay, Alvin goes," she added looking back at him with a glare.

"Brittany, we still need to talk," he replied, not budging.

After a moment, she sighed. "Charlene, why don't you go upstairs and wait for me. This won't take long."

Charlene nodded and hurried up the stairs. When they heard Brittany's bedroom door close, she spoke up first. "Alvin, I don't know what you're accusing me of or why, but I haven't done anything."

"Brittany, I know you took my hat!"

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, please, why would I have taken your hat?"

"Because we had that fight about Simon and you took it to make me think he's crazy."

"Alvin, you are an idiot! For one thing, I wasn't the last one in your house. Almost everyone went in there before you said you supposedly had your cap stolen. And another thing, how do you know you didn't just misplace it!"

He ignored her. "And, I know you have to have been the house. Theodore and I heard footsteps."

"That could've been anyone!"

"And," he went on. " I know you've been in my house late at night and you messed with Theodore's tire on his car!"

She stared at him in disbelief, then her face quickly turned to rage. "Alvin, you really are an idiot! I haven't done or stolen anything. You just need to turn everything that's happened to you on someone other than Simon!" Brittany shot back. "So, if you're so sure it's me then show me your proof."

They stared at each other for a long minute. Alvin hated to admit that she was right.

"See, I knew you didn't." She walked over to the stairs before turning back to him. "You know, next time you accuse someone, have some proof to back it up!" She stormed up the stairs nd Alvin heard the door slam.

He sighed. _That didn't go so well, _he thought. As he walked out into the hallway he saw the front door crack open and Jeanette's head pop through.

"Is it safe to come inside?" She asked him.

Alvin nodded. "Yeah, she's in her room right now," he told her. "Did you hear us fighting?"

"I'm sure the whole neighborhood heard you two fighting." She opened the door and motioned for him to follow her outside. "Come on, we'll talk for a while."

They both left the house and started walking down the sidewalk. "Where are we going?" He asked.

"Well I was heading to the library but I thought you and me should talk first." She stopped and looked at him. "Did all that stuff really happen?"

"Yeah, it did. But I could've sworn it was Brittany doing all of it. She has been trying to convince me since day one that Simon is crazy."

"Well, you can't say for sure it was either of them."

"So, you think it's someone else?"

She nodded. "To tell you the truth, I find it really hard to believe Brittany did all that stuff. I mean, Brittany doesn't steal things to make her point, she just yells a lot."

Alvin thought about it for a moment. "You're right Jeanette but-"

"And," she interrupted. "Brittany knows nothing about cars. I know for a fact she couldn't have taken Theodore's tire."

Alvin stopped and the crosswalk. "Okay, so do you think Simon is doing all this?"

She paused for a long moment and thought about. While she did the both crossed the street. "The others and I made a promise to not judge Simon. So, I put my faith on that alone."

Alvin sighed and sat on a bench. The heat was really starting to get to him. "Sometimes I think I'm the one going crazy."

Jeanette sat down next to him. "Maybe you are."

"Thanks Jen."

"No really," she started to explain. "I learned about it in the psychology course I took. Sometime, mental illnesses can be hereditary."

"Has anyone ever told you how uplifting you can be?"

"Sorry Alvin, but remember that if you ever need any help I'm here for you and your brothers. But Brittany was right about one thing, you need proof and maybe you should start looking for it close to home."

Alvin nodded, thinking hard. The only place he hadn't looked was Simon's room. But Simon had been so private lately. "It feels like I'm losing my brother all over again. Sometimes I can't believe what happened."

"Me neither."

"I should've seen it coming though. He had been acting so strange and . . ."

Jeanette laid her paw and his shoulder. "It's not your fault. We didn't want to believe anything was wrong so we ignored it."

_She's right, _Alvin thought. _I didn't want to believe it. And now I'm doing the same thing over again. I can't let it go that far again._

Alvin stood up. "I've got to check his room."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?"

He nodded and gave her a strange look. Jeanette gulped. "Alvin I know what you're thinking and I'm not helping."

He smiled. "You already promised you would."

"No I couldn't I m-m-mean I c-cant. . ." She said nervously.

"Don't worry Jen, its simple. . . "

* * *

A few hours later, Alvin was standing in the kitchen drinking water. _Man is it hot,_ he thought refilling his glass. He starting walking back toward the living room when Simon stopped him and the doorway. Alvin had been surprised and spilled some of his water on the floor.

"Simon, you know it's rude to pop out of the shadows like that?"

Alvin stared back at Simon and saw that he looked a little. . . mad. He tried to step around his brother but Simon casually stepped in front of him. "Uh Si, I'm trying to get through."

Alvin looked down and his heart almost stopped when he saw the knife Simon was twirling in his hand. "Actually Alvin, I was hoping we could talk."

Alvin gulped and started to step back. "Of course Simon, but you know, I a. . . have to a. . . lie down. I have a. . . terrible stomach ache." Alvin took another step back and felt his back hit the counter top.

"Don't act like I'm stupid Alvin."

"Oh, no I don't think you're stupid, far from it actually. I think you're a genius," he rambled on. "Why, if there were a genius contest in LA, you would definitely win."

"Alvin, I know you were in my room and I want what you took out of it back, now!" He brought the knife up closer.

"Simon, I can honestly say, I have no idea what you're talking about."

"I'm sick of your games Alvin."

"Oh well, let's play a new one then," he said nervously. "We have Life, scrabble, twister, and I think we have Monopoly too. I'll go check," quickly he moved around Simon to leave, but his brother caught his arm. He pushed Alvin back up against the counter.

"I want it back now!"

Alvin just stood there and stared at his brother. He was really angry now. All Alvin could do was stand there and pray for a miracle.

Just then, they heard the front door opened. "I'm back!" Theodore called.

"In the kitchen!" Alvin called back. He raced around Simon as Theodore walked in and Simon dropped the knife onto the counter.

"Hi," Theodore said, a little confused. "What's going on?"

"Oh, Simon was just asking me about something he lost. You haven't seen anything of his lying around, have you?"

Theodore shook his head. "No, I've been gone most of the day."

_Phew, _Alvin thought. "Well, I guess you'll have to look somewhere else Simon."

Simon glared at him. "I guess so," he said and left.

Alvin sat down with a big sigh of relief. "What just happened," Theodore asked.

"Let's just say if you hadn't come home, I'd be in a body bag right now."

Theodore sat down next to him. "That's terrible."

"Yeah, which is why I need to search Simon's room as soon as possible."

Theodore stood back up. "Have fun with that."

"Wait Theodore, I need your help."

"Alvin, God knows what we'll find in there."

"That is why I want you to help me out. Don't worry, I have a plan."

Theodore sighed. "Have I ever told you how much I hate your plans."

"Plenty."

* * *

**So what will they find there? Review or no next chapter!**

**Have a nice Halloween!**


	6. Can You Keep My Secret?

**Yes! I can finally do this.**

**Like I said before, I wrote the next couple of this story's chapters ahead of time and they got erased.**

**But anyway, I really want to get on with this story. Thanks and please review!**

* * *

The doorbell rang and Alvin ran to the door to answer it. When he opened the door, he saw Jeanette standing there, right on time.

"Hey, Jen," he said quietly. "Are you ready?"

"Alvin, I think this is a really bad idea," she said, shaking her head.

Theodore walked in and agreed. "Yeah, Alvin. This is going to get us in trouble."

He rolled his eyes. "Aren't you two being just a little ridiculous?" He said. "It's all going to be fine. Theodore, call Simon down, and Jeanette compose yourself. Nothing bad is going to happen."

Theodore nodded but he still didn't like the idea. He walked to the stairs. "Simon! Someone's here to see you!"

A moment later, Simon came down the stairs and was a little surprised to see Jeanette. "Hey, what are you doing here?"

She tried to smile. "I c-came here to talk to you," she said.

"Well with that said, Theo, let's leave these two to talk," Alvin said quickly pulling Theodore upstairs.

"Let's go into the living room," Simon said. Jeanette nodded and the two walked into the room. Jeanette said down on the couch feeling a little nervous.

"So, umm, how have you been?" Jeanette asked nervously.

"Okay I guess," he muttered in rely. He was staring out the window and hadn't looked at her since they had come into the living room.

"I came because I wanted to say I'm, uh," she stopped, not sure of what or how she wanted to say it. But instead of thinking about it clearly for once, Jeanette decided to say what was at the top of her head. "I'm sorry."

This seemed to surprise Simon. "Sorry? For what?"

"For what happened… before you left three years ago," she finally said.

Simon walked over to the couch and sat down next to her. "No, I should be the one saying sorry," he said. "I know you figured out what happened after the party."

Jeanette felt tears in her eyes. "It's my fault though. I shouldn't have been so awful to you. And then when you needed help I completely turn my back on you and that was wrong of me."

He sighed. "Then I guess we both are at fault but maybe we shouldn't talk about it. The others still don't know we were together and we promised we wouldn't say anything about it. So can you keep it a secret?"

"Don't worry, I haven't told them," she said. "But the truth is, when you left, I felt like I lost a friend. And well, I miss you," she said, tears running down her face.

He smiled. "I missed you too."

* * *

Meanwhile, upstairs, Alvin and Theodore were trying to play sneaky and get into Simon's room.

"Are you ready, Theo?"

Theodore gulped. "Alvin, this is a really bad idea," he said.

"Stop being a baby Theodore," Alvin said, opening the door to Simon's room. "Jeanette's distracting him so we're fine."

Alvin nodded toward the room and Theodore reluctantly went inside. Alvin followed and the first thing he noticed was that the room was spotless. Simon was still a neat freak,that was one thing that hadn't changed.

"Okay, now start searching through everything and see if you find anything suspicious. And make sure to put everything back."

Theodore nodded and started going through the drawers. "Fine, but I still don't see what we're looking for."

Alvin went straight for the closet. When he opened it, he started examining the bottom shelf and immediately found the black case that Simon hadn't wanted him to touch. Alvin pulled it out and looked inside. To his surprise it was empty.

"That's strange," he mumbled to himself. "If it was empty, why didn't he let me open it earlier?"

"Alvin," he heard Theodore call. "I think I found something." Alvin put the case back the where he had got found, closed the door, and went over to his little brother.

"Look at these," Theodore held up a bottle of medicine. Alvin looked at it carefully. It was hadn't been opened yet.

"What is it?"

Theodore read the side of the bottle out loud. "Clonazepam- take twice daily," he said.

"What's clonazepam?" Alvin asked.

"If I remember correctly, this is Rivotril, which is a Benzodiazepine." Theodore noticed Alvin still seemed confused. "What I'm trying to say is this stuff is for controlling anxiety and stress. And it looks like it's been opened but Simon hasn't taken any of them."

"Well I guess that explains why Simon was ready to snap my head off yesterday," he said. Suddenly, Alvin remembered what Dave had said about making sure Simon took his medication. _If Dave finds out I forgot, he'll kill me._

"So you know what this means, right?" Theodore shook his head in reply. "Well, it means we need to talk to Simon and make sure he starts taking his medicine."

Theodore sighed. "I hate to say it, but I'm a little scared of him."

"Don't worry, Theo, soon, everything's going to be back to normal."

* * *

After Jeanette left, Alvin told Simon that they needed to talk. He had also made Theodore sit with them. "Simon," he started. "We know your secret."

Simon just stared at Alvin, shocked. _Did they hear me and Jen talking? Do they know what happened a few years ago? Do they know our secret? _He gulped. "What do you mean?" He asked, pretending not to know.

Alvin pulled out a bottle and set in on the table. "You haven't been taking your medication Si," he said. "I know we shouldn't have gone in your room but you've been acting so strange we had to," he said.

Simon felt a sudden rush of relief. He also found himself not mad at them. Why should he be? They were his brothers and were concerned about him, just like Jeanette. The fact was, he was lucky to have them around. Even after three years, they still cared about him enough to find out about him even though he had been keeping so much to himself.

"Okay, I confess. I haven't been taking the pills," he said.

"Why not Simon?" Theodore asked.

"The truth is, I hate taking them. They might calm down my nerves but sometimes they put me in a complete daze and I seem so out of it. When they released me, I stopped taking them and at first I felt fine but then all those nervous feelings started getting to me again and I thought I could control them on my own without the pills."

"Si, you will one day but for now they're meant to help you, not hurt you," Alvin said. "Can you please start taking them again? You're scaring Theodore," Alvin said, and Theodore nodded.

Simon smiled. "Well, if it makes Theodore feel better, then fine," he said, taking the bottle in his hands and taking a pill. "I think I'll just go upstairs now," he said. His brothers nodded and Simon left the room.

At the top of the stairs, he stopped, thinking about the conversation he had with Jeanette earlier. He hated having her keep the secret, but there was no other choice.

If Jeanette let on that she knew, they both could be in some serious trouble. The way she had talked so long ago still stuck in his mind. In a way, he was still terrified of her. Why? Because of the threat she had made.

_~Flashback~_

_Simon just stood there in the parking lot, waiting to here what she had to say. This was where they usually met, to keep their dating a secret, but they wouldn't have to keep it much longer._

_She just stared at him angrily. "This is not happening," she said._

"_I'm sorry-"_

"_No!" She screamed. "You just keep your damn sorry to yourself! Why the hell are you breaking up with me!"_

"_We can't be together. We weren't meant too," he said. "We both have to get on with our lives and stop keeping this secret."_

"_Don't give me that! Is it Jeanette? Is it because you still care about her?"_

"_No," he lied. "I have things I need to do."_

_She just glared. "All you care about are those lab projects and impressing those professors. But did you ever think how I feel," she asked, tears in her eyes. "Did you ever even care about me!"_

"_Of course I do, but…"_

"_Shut up. I hate you for this," she said with a murderous look in her eyes. "But fine, break up with me, but don't think I won't get you back for this."_

"_I don't want you to be mad."_

"_Too late!" She yelled and started to storm away, but not without her last words. "If you ever tell anyone about any of this, I will kill you and whoever you told."_

_And with that, she left, leaving Simon alone in the parking lot._

_~End Flashback~_

Just remembering that day, Simon shivered. It was one of the last actual days he had felt completely sane in doing what he did. Everything else seemed so much like a blur.

But what she had said was so serious. He had never heard that tone in anyone's voice before. But coming from her, he thought he'd never hear it. Not that serious, not that…willing to carry out the threat. In a way, he thought she might be crazier than him. But the thought still terrified him.

Simon hoped Jeanette didn't let on to the others about their secret. If she did, they were in deep trouble.

* * *

**Done! So what do you think? Simon has a deadly secret he wants Jeanette to keep, but how many others does he have.**

**The others could be in serious trouble if she tells. And what happened at the party? Who made the threat? How will the medicine make a difference? **

**So many questions but the others will soon find the answers to them in the most terrifying, way.**


	7. If Caring's Worth Your Sanity

**Yeah, my next chapter.**

**So yeah, I got a lot from my last chapter and just for everyone's info, that WAS NOT JEANETTE he was FIGHTING with in the flashback.**

**So yeah, but you'll find out soon. Thanks for my reviewers and readers!**

* * *

Alvin sat in the living, waiting for his friends and enjoying the air conditioning. Last time he checked, it was over 110 degrees outside and the temperature was rising. Thank goodness he had air conditioning.

He sighed. Things had been settling down since his talk with Simon five days ago. And luckily, nothing strange or bad has happened since then. Hopefully, it would stay like this until Dave got back. Alvin still hadn't found his hat and Theodore had gotten a cheaper replacement tire in the meantime while waiting for the other to come via UPS, but things were definitely getting better.

Just then, The Chipettes and Charlene came in, talking animatedly about shopping and they seemed sweaty.

"Oh, my gosh," Brittany grumbled. "If it was any hotter we'd have to cancel our trip to the mall." She was wearing a pink tank top and matching skirt and seemed to go with Charlene's outfit which was the same only it was yellow.

"I guess we're lucky it has air conditioning then, huh?" Eleanor said, trying to fix the straps on her green sunflower dress.

Alvin looked at Jeanette who was wearing a dark purple shirt and black jean shorts. She seemed to be spacing in and out. It wasn't necessarily unusual for her, being the thinker of the group, but she sort of had a troubled look on her face that worried Alvin. "You okay, Jen?" He asked.

She snapped her head around to him and nodded quickly. "Yeah, but the heat's got me a little dazed." As she said this, Alvin wondered if this was really true or not.

"Well, then let's get going before it gets worse," Charlene said, before he could ask anything else. "Where are Theodore and Simon?"

"Hang on, I'll get them," Alvin said, running out the room.

Upstairs, Simon stood in front of the bathroom mirror, contemplating whether or not he really wanted to go out with the others today.

As far as he knew, the pills should be helping, but so far, since he'd taken them, they'd start making him either drowsy or causing him to lose focus or even...blackout. He sighed. Why was this happening to him? Before, the pills hadn't done this, but maybe this was just a side-effect of not taking them for such a long time.

Suddenly, a knock came to the bathroom door. "Simon, hurry up in there." It was Alvin. "The others are waiting."

Simon let out another sigh and smoothed his white and blue shirt. He made a promise to his brothers he'd take the medicine, so that's what he'd do. But he was a little scared of what would happen. "I'll be right there," he called out, taking two of the pills.

* * *

At the Spring Hills Mall, two LA police detectives sat at the Dairy's Donuts. The younger one was in his mid-twenties. He had blonde hair and blue eyes and was wearing a white shirt and slacks. The older and much more heavy set one, who sat across the table from him, was wearing what seemed to be his usual uniform, which was a white striped shirt and tie with brown pants and had what he called his 'signature detective coat' slung over the back of his chair.

The younger one sighed heavily, staring down at his untouched donut. His higher up looked at his new recruit and eyed him warily. "What's wrong Jackson?"

Detective Jackson shrugged. "Nothing really, sir," he said, taking a small bite out of his chocolate peanut donut, which didn't taste very good.

P.D. Elton shrugged and pick up his other sugar donut. "Well, tell me rookie, how's your first week been?"

He shrugged. "Okay. A lot more boring than I thought it would be."

Their waitress, a pretty young teenager, walked over and laid down their coffee and asked if they needed anything else. Detective Jackson supplied her with a polite 'no thank you' while his more seasoned colleague answered by ordering two more chocolate covered donut, one with sprinkles, and a glazed one before she scurried away.

"Since we just became partners, Jackson, you should tell me a bit about yourself," Elton said, taking a large gulp of his de-cafe. "Are you married?"

Jackson shook his head. "No."

"Well do you have a girlfriend?" When he shook his head again, Elton let out a chuckle and put another small donut hole into his mouth. "I nice handsome young man like you don't have a girlfriend? For what reason?"

"No reason. I've just been real busy trying to get into the P.D. business and it caused me and my old girlfriend to break up."

Elton nodded sympathetically. "I know the feeling. Lost two marriages in this job," he said. "But I guess when it comes to it, stopping the bad guys is real important. I ended up with a real love for this job, but it comes with a price. Not just socially, but it takes away from you mentally too."

Elton looked out the glass window they sat by. "Do you know why we're here Jackson?"

He shook his head. "I'm not really sure, sir."

Elton rolled his eyes. "C'mon Jackson, I can't have you dragging me down." He took a large bite out of his fourth donut.

Jackson smiled slightly, watching his partner eat yet another donut amazed him. "You don't have to worry about that," he mumbled.

"What was that?"

He cleared his throat. "Well, I know that there've been a lot of robberies here lately."

Elton nodded and waved his beefy hand toward the window. Jackson looked and saw a whole bunch of people lined up at the large jewelry stand. "You see, Jackson, not only does this place have some really good donuts, it also has a great view of the place most likely to get robbed. Since the mall is renovating, the security cameras have temporarily shut down."

He blinked. "So we're pretty much doing a stakeout?"

"Yep," he replied. "Now, keep your eyes sharp. We don't want a thief getting past us today, or, anything worse."

Jackson nodded and the pretty waitress came back again, with Elton's other three donuts. "Anything else?" She asked.

Elton picked up the glazed donut and was about to say something but Jackson spoke up first. "That'll be all for him, thanks."

She smiled at Jackson and walked away. Elton gave him a look, then smiled. "You gota good mind, kid."

Jackson let Elton gobble down that donut and he looked out the window at The Glitz Jewelry Stand. A bunch of people were standing around, chatting and seemed pretty happy and content with their lives, something he hadn't felt in a while.

Jackson looked back at his partner. "What did you mean when you said this job gets to you mentally?"

Suddenly, for the first time, Elton put down his donut and coffee. He gave Jackson a weary look. "Well boy, if you really want to listen, I'm a tell ya' something I wished someone had told me when I first started in this business." He took a napkin from the napkin dispenser and started to wipe off his hands and mouth and then started to explain.

"When I said this job picks at you mentally, I really mean it. Even from the toughest ones who come into the police force looking for the jobs that seem exciting and will keep them from being 'bored.'" Jackson felt a twinge of guilt by the look Elton was giving him, he didn't know why though, but he did know that he probably said the wrong thing when he told Elton he was bored with his job earlier.

Elton went on. "I was one of them people. I thought I could handle it because when I was fifteen, I watched my closest friend get gunned down."

"I'm sorry, sir."

Elton just shrugged and picked up his coffee. "Don't worry about it. It was over thirty years ago, so it isn't a problem. But what I mean is, I experienced this mental chipping just as much as the next officer." He leaned in closer. "It chips away and that block of sanity in your head, slowly, like some axe, and it hits that one weak spot we all have, even the ones who swear it's not there, but it does."

"What's the weak spot?"

For a long few minutes, Elton didn't reply what so ever, seemingly now staring at his coffee lost in his own thought. Jackson thought maybe Elton had ended the conversation, until he spoke again in a low, meaningful voice. "Jackson, police have been around for a real long time, and there's one question that's been implanted in all of our minds, which we still don't know the answer to yet. Probably never will," he added.

Jackson cleared his throat. "What's that, sir?"

"Is it all right to care?" Was the first quiet words out of Elton's mouth. "Getting our emotions caught up in a case are the only problem with taking one up. Eventually, when you start to get attached, feeling bad bad for the victims, sorry, like it's fully your responsibility to fix what someone else broken, it will start to break you down gradually. Case after case, murder after gruesome murder… After a while, you feel like you've seen it all, until the next case comes around, worse than before, more emotional, pulling you in and taking away from the sanity you've so carefully built up over the years. And then finally, some people snap under the pressure. But most, most just go on, remembering, wondering, pondering through their thoughts and contemplating if they should've cared or not, or gotten attached or unattached. But eventually, it breaks those tough walls, your weak spot being your feelings, and your only thoughts when you realized your alone with no one else for comfort or company because you've pushed them all away, though only thing you can think of while you sit in the darkness is:

'Was it okay to care?'"

* * *

Meanwhile, the others were walking up to the Spring Hill Mall from the large and very full parking lot. Alvin listened while Eleanor and Caleb talked about their plans this weekend for going to see a live wrestling match this weekend.

"The Ultimate Smackdown Tournament 3 is going to be awesome," Eleanor exclaimed happily with a squeal.

Alvin nodded in agreement beside her. "I still can't believe we got tickets."

Caleb shrugged but still had a satisfied look on his face. "It was easier than it looked. I can't wait till the Iron Fist takes out Mr. K.O."

Eleanor laughed like he had said something pretty funny. "Yeah right. Mr. K.O. can take on the Iron fist with his eyes closed."

"Please," Caleb said, rolling his eyes. "He lost the last tournament. Which means he'll lose this one."

"Want to bet on it?"

"Sure, I'm not scared." Caleb challenged and glanced over at Theodore. "Speaking of scared, are you coming with us, Theo?"

He shook his head. "I don't think so. It sounds like it's way too violent."

"It's not that bad, Theodore," Eleanor assured. "It's not like you'll be in the ring. What are the rest of you doing Saturday night?"

Alvin noticed Jeanette look away nervously and then Brittany spoke up. "Unlike you guys and your crazy testosterone filled fight night, Charlene and I are having a sleepover with some friends we haven't seen in forever."

"Then I'm even gladder I'm going to the Smackdown," Alvin said with a chuckle and kept walking.

As they walked, Alvin came up beside Jeanette. Strangely, she hadn't said anything. "Are you alright?"

She blinked and turned her attention to him. "Yeah, I'm fine."

When they walked into the mall, they stood around, enjoying the air conditioning and talking, well sort of arguing, about where they should head first. After a while, also being indulged with some glares from the security guard, they thought it be best to split up for a while first.

"Did you want to come with me and Caleb, Simon?" Alvin asked his brother, who hadn't said much that day either. He was starting to wonder if something was going on.

He shook his head in reply. "Nah, I think I'll just take a walk."

Alvin shrugged and they all split up, promising to meet at lunch time. Eleanor and Theodore went toward the East Wing, where cooking supply stores were, while Charlene and Brittany headed toward the shoe section. Simon and Jeanette both seemed to simply disappear.

"Hey Alvin," Caleb said. "Is it just me, or is something going on?"

"Well, I guess we can't do anything about it until they talk to us first."

For the next couple of hours, the two walked through stores of the mall. After a while, Caleb stopped Alvin in the large vehicle section. "Alvin, look at that."

Alvin was surprised to see one of those giant mechanical bulls on display. "Whoa, where have I seen one of those before?"

Caleb laughed. "Don't you remember? That party we went to like three years ago? Cohan was hosting it at his old house and that barn across from it. Then again, do you think it's strange that that's all I can remember too?"

Thinking about it more, Alvin did vaguely remember that party and everyone wanting to ride that giant mechanical bull. Cohan was hosting the party because his parents were selling the place. But that was the only thing he could remember clearly. He and Caleb had gotten so beyond drunk that night that he couldn't remember much.

But it was strange, how something all of the sudden, from that night, was nagging in the back of his mind. What was it? And why did it seem really important to remember? He remembered how just around that time, Simon started acting a little strange, but nothing big or alerting. But still… It was like, something really important happened that night, something he should, well, needed to remember, but couldn't. It was like the party was a large black space in his mind where it was hiding from him, but the memory was so close, he could practically feel it, but it kept moving away, and he kept getting lost in the blur and blackness of that night which sat in his mind.

"Hey Caleb," he said. "Do you remember something strange that happened at that party? I feel like there's something I should remember, but what was it?"

He shrugged. "I have no more knowledge of that night than you do, probably less. But maybe, if you buy that bull and take a ride on it, it'll start coming back to you," he added with a smirk.

Alvin laughed. "Dave would kill me if he came home and saw a giant mechanical bull in the living room."

Caleb laughed along with him and they both started walking around again, enjoying the familiar surroundings. Still though, Alvin felt this memory was taunting him, willing him to remember something he couldn't. Eventually, Caleb's words snapped him out of his thoughts. "Hey, it's about time for lunch. Let's head to the Food Court."

Alvin nodded, trying to forget about the thought poking in the back of his head. But the thought refused to leave.

Immediately, the two spotted Theodore standing at the cafeteria, looking a bit worried. "What's up, Theo?"

He looked at them. "I lost, Ellie."

Alvin chuckled. "Eleanor will be fine, she can take care of herself. Let's get something to eat." Saying that perked Theodore up a little bit and they all picked up lunch from the Fast Chicken and sat down. A few minutes later, Brittany showed up, carrying eight bags and pretty furious looking.

"What's wrong Brit?" Caleb asked with fake worry. "Did you break a nail?"

"Shut the hell up!" She yelled at him fiercely, sitting down. "You won't believe what just happened to me!"

Just then, Eleanor came walking over that second, with her purse slung over her shoulder and flipping through a _Punch&Kix _magazinethat was in her hand. She was probably reading more about the upcoming tournament and other boxing and any other sport which most likely included very muscular men, probably on steroids, with broken noses and other injured organs and internal bleeding, still playing their game. Most likely it was something like Padless Rugby or Killer Bull Running.

"Hey, everyone," she said, sitting down. "What are you guys talking about?"

"Brittany was just about to reveal to us what made her day crappy," Alvin told her.

Brittany started to explain. "Okay, so earlier I saw these SUPER cute lacey pink heels at Miss FootWear and I didn't know if I wanted them or not. So a little while ago, a made up my mind to go buy them, but it was a pretty far walk back and Charlene wanted to go to The Glitz Jewelry booth. We split up and I went into the store and picked up the shoes when I saw them, I also saw this really rude bitch I saw at Mickey's and she was so eyeing my shoes, so just for fun I kept the heels close to me and for the next like thirty minutes or so, I decided to keep trying on shoes just to tick her off and get her to leave. And they had some really cute shoes too. Like, there were these Apple Bottom Sneaker's that…"

Alvin put his head on his hands as Eleanor took a fry from his tray. They all sort of looked at Caleb who they blamed for starting Brittany on her never ending oral blog on what happened to her today. They knew that when Brittany got like this, she'd probably go on for days.

A few minutes into Brittany's monologue over shoes, Jeanette showed up. Alvin spoke up, glad to have an excuse to change the topic. "Jen, what's up?"

Jeanette just shrugged and sat down. She still seemed so spacey and bothered. Alvin really wanted to know why. He also noted that Eleanor and Caleb seemed to notice this too.

"Back to what I was saying," Brittany interrupted.

"How about just get to the point?" Eleanor asked, annoyance dripped from her voice. She sounded as annoyed as Alvin felt at that moment.

"Well, here's what happened. This little girl came to me and asked if I could help her in the next aisle with reaching some shoes. Being the kind person I am, I went over there and pulled them down for her. When I went back, my heels were gone! And I _know _that bitch stole them!"

Caleb spoke up. "Technically, they weren't yours, since you hadn't bought them yet."

"But that's not the worse part. The worst part is that I saw her talking that little girl after I walked out the store. God was I pissed."

A moment later, Charlene walked up, smiling and holding three shopping bags. "Hello, My fellow _tamias et les amis!_" She sat down next to Brittany, the Chipette still fuming mind you. "Sorry, for not coming back to you Brit, but the lines were so long and I saw the cutest earrings ever!"

Charlene pulled out a small box and showed everyone golden ribbon earrings. "They're gorgeous!" Eleanor exclaimed. "I want a pair."

"Me too," Brittany said, eying them with a wanting. "Let's head there."

Charlene shook her head and slipped them back in her bag. "Sorry to disappoint ladies, but these were the last pair they had." She took a fry from Caleb's tray and asked, "Where's Simon?"

Alvin mentally slapped himself for not noticing sooner that his other brother hadn't returned. "I have no idea."

They all gave each other worried looks over the member of the group that had yet to return. "Ya' know, he might be-" Brittany started, but Alvin didn't let her finish.

"Brittany! What did I tell you about bringing that up?"

She huffed. "Who said I was talking about _that_?" Everyone at the table looked back from her to Alvin, nervously, except Charlene who still seemed a bit confused on exactly _what _they were fighting about.

"I know you Brittany, and I know that's exactly what you were going to say." He stopped, having memories start to come back to him that he definitely didn't want to remember now or ever. They had all made a silent promise years back to never bring it up. But let it be Brittany of all people to be the one to cross that invisible line that was so clear to everyone else.

"Just don't go there, Brittany," he went on. "There's no reason to ever go there, so let's just never bring it up again."

"Never bring what up again?" A new voice said. Everyone turned to see Simon standing behind Alvin and an awkward silence sort of came over them.

Alvin spoke up. "Um, Brittany and her whole shoe problem. It was quite boring really, why not sit down?" Simon nodded and took the empty seat next to Jeanette while Brittany angrily turned away from him.

Charlene gave Alvin a wary look, almost positive Alvin wasn't talking about Brittany's shoe rant. If she had to guess, they were probably talking about what happened after she left. But was it really _that _bad? Had Simon really done something so terrible that it scared the others into never talking about it again? It made her even more curious about what happened. Even so, did she really want to know?

"So, where should we go next?" Caleb asked, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Can we go to the Electronics Epicenter?" Eleanor asked quickly. "I really want to look at new laptops. Do you want to go Jeanette?" Eleanor asked her sister.

She nodded. "I need to get a new USB drive."

Charlene agreed. "Yeah, I do too."

"I think we all should go, my laptop crashed a few months ago and I hate gong to the library," Brittany said, then gave Caleb a warning look. "Don't you even think about it."

He shrugged, knowing better and looked at Alvin. "You need a new cellphone right?"

Alvin had almost completely forgotten he didn't have a cellphone. "Yeah, so I guess we're all heading there then?" Everyone agreed.

"Wait, is it even open?" Theodore asked. "I mean, it's in the area of the mall where the renovations are taking place."

"Don't worry, Theo, it's open," Eleanor assured him.

"How do you know?" Charlene asked.

Eleanor paused for a minute, then said, "Well I…uh, asked a security guard earlier because I was going to go, but when I noticed the time I came here."

Was it just him, or did it seem like she was lying? Because Alvin had a really suspicious feeling she was. But why?

"Let's not stand here like idiots," Brittany said. "Let's go!"

And with those words, everyone took the long walk to the renovation area. It was not crowded like the rest of the mall. In fact, no one was really there. He noticed most of the stores down this way were closed and borded up, along with the smell of new paint and plaster.

Caleb nudged him and pointed to one of the stores that were open. It was a hunting game store. Everything you needed for hunting was sold in there, especially guns and bullets.

"Maybe we should start hunting," Caleb said. "Might be fun."

Alvin sighed. "I don't think I'd trust you with a gun around me or anyone else. Especially since your drunk all the time."

He shrugged. "Hey, last time I checked, I haven't been drunk in three days, so I'm getting better."

Theodore walked up beside Alvin. "Allllviiiin, you know I don't like guns," he said. "Can we just head to the electronics store?" Theodore pointed down the hall, a good fifteen yards away stood the Electronics Epicenter, open and the others were already heading inside.

The three boys walked inside following the others, and were pretty amazed at how large and nice the place looked. There was a large counter to their left that had cellphones and signs overhead, directing where laptops, televisions, games and everything else were. It looked like laptops were all the way in the back. But the store looked completely empty.

They all decided to split up; Theodore went to look at TVs, while Charlene and Jeanette went to where the USB drives were. Brittany and Eleanor headed toward the back and Alvin lead Simon and Caleb to the front counter where the cellphones were displayed.

Alvin looked at Simon who seemed pretty fidgety. "Si, what's going on?"

Simon just shrugged. "I don't know. I don't really want to be here right now," he said. "Maybe we should just go."

"Just calm down Si, we'll leave soon. Let me just look at some phone's cause I doubt I'm getting mine back anytime soon."

Alvin went up to the counter and rung the bell, since no one seemed to be there. When he got no answer, he called "Is anyone here?" But still, no one came. That was strange, since the store was definatley open. Suddenly, something didn't feel right.

Meanwhile, Brittany and Eleanor walked toward the laptops. Once they were away from everyone else, Brittany turned to her baby sister. "Why did you lie earlier?"

Eleanor looked back at her, surprised by the question. "What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean," Brittany persisted. "Why did you lie when Charlene asked how you knew about this place being open?"

Eleanor rolled her eyes. "C'mon Brit, why would I lie about knowing how this place was open?"

"Exactly what I want to know, because what I do know that you weren't telling the truth," she said. "And you never lie unless you have a pretty big reason to."

"I didn't lie," she said angrily. She tried to pass Brittany, but her sister kept getting in her way, crossing her arms.

"Tell me the truth, El."

"It doesn't matter," she said, and turned away and walked back towards the side aisles. Brittany sighed. Eleanor was keeping something from her.

She turned and walked down the next aisles toward the very back, where she knew the better laptops were kept, still deep in thought. She was still thinking about Eleanor when her foot caught on something large and caused her to trip, falling flat on her face.

"Fuck," she mumbled, lifting her head. That's when she realized the smell. It was an awful, metallic smell that she remembered smelling before. It started to bring back memories of something like this happening before.

Brittany turned, trying to figure out what she tripped over. When she saw eyes staring back at her, blank and unmoving, she knew exactly what she had just tripped over.

She screamed.


End file.
